The Lost Tales of Tiritas

It began with a whisper. In a language long forgotten The Saven, god of order, spoke and in the palm of his hand the rocky sphere of the world formed. As The Saven marveled at his creation and began to imagine the wonders he could create within it, The Nevas, god of chaos, appeared next to him and spoke his own words. As he spoke, waters began to form and engulf half the world. Through this, the great continent formed with lakes and rivers. Approvingly, The Saven removed his hand from under the world and allowed it float on its own. Satisfied with the new creation, The Saven named it Tiritas.

The two gods examined with curiosity as the waters cut through the land causing great canyons and mountain ranges. With a thought of brilliance, The Saven reached down with both hands and crushed a pair of mountains within his grip. As the rocks and rubble cascaded down to the ground, they began to take forms and shapes. Shortly, these new shapes stood and marveled at their new world. They were short round creatures, much like the rocks they were made from. Their skin, although fresh and new, looked as if it had been just dug up from the ground. The Saven looked down at his creations and called them Dwarves, tillers of the earth and keepers of the mountains. Time went by and the two gods watched as the Dwarves carved through the land and mountains, creating their own world in which to live.

The Saven began to wonder how long it would take the Dwarves to populate this new world. Looking to the other end of the continent, The Saven noticed a new color. Through the powers of the water, green was vastly expanding across the land. Everywhere The Saven looked he saw grass and trees beginning to grow. Remembering that the Dwarves were created for the mountains and earth, The Saven decided to create a new being that would live within this new green. Taking a fist full of grass out of the ground, The Saven tossed the small green blades into the air. Before each of them landed, they were transformed into tall slender beings. Their skin looked to be a pasty pale green, as their ears were long and pointed like the blades of grass. The Saven directed them to the quickly growing forest and called them Elves, guardians of the green world.

The Nevas looked on at the creation of the Elves and became angry. Moving south of where the trees and grass were growing, he came upon a great desert that stretched out to the far horizon. With great force, The Nevas slammed his foot into the sand. The sand began to shake and quiver, within moments creatures emerged from underneath the sand. These creatures were shorter than the Elves but were much more slender and savage looking. Their skin was almost the same as the sand that they stood on as they darted their heads around, taking in their new surroundings. The Nevas called these creatures Goblins, harbingers of greed and destruction.

Without any direction, The Nevas left the Goblins on their own and fled to a part of Tiritas just south of where the Dwarves were settled. Anger continued to grow inside of The Nevas. As his rage built up, it began to pour out over the land around him. The lush green grass and crystal clear lake changed to shades of black. Even the waters became a dark wet abyss. A new rush of power came over The Nevas. Reaching out he grabbed whatever he could get his hands on and began smashing it all together. Trees, rocks, clumps of dirt and mud, all were being built into new beings by the chaotic Nevas. Shortly after, The Nevas stepped back and beamed at his newest creations. Monstrous beasts of all shapes and sizes stood in front of him. With a thunderous clap of his hands, the beasts run in all different directions, some attacking one another while others headed towards the mountains where the Dwarves resided.

The Saven watched and grieved as The Nevas’ beasts and Goblins ravaged through Tiritas, murdering the Elves and the Dwarves. With sorrowful weeps, he reached down and picked up the bones of the dead Elves and Dwarves. Taking them into his palm, The Saven covered them with his breath and tossed them into the air. As the bones flew in the air, they formed into new beings. These newest creations stood taller than Elves and possessed more muscle and power than the Dwarves. The Saven marveled at how strong and elegant these creatures were. Their bodies were covered with feathers, and their heads were great bird heads that radiated fierceness and power. The Saven named them Rapton, warriors of the land. Immediately, The Saven sent the Rapton to defend what was left of the Elf and Dwarf populations.

The Rapton barreled through the hordes of beasts, saving what was left of the dwarves and elves. Looking on, the elves and dwarves were inspired by what they saw and took up nearby rocks and sticks and began fighting for themselves. With the aid of the dwarves, the Rapton drove The Nevas’ monsters back to the dark country while the elves battled the goblins into the vast desert they were born in.

Once again The Nevas filled with anger as his creation were defeated by The Saven’s. Fueled by rage, the god of chaos struck The Saven, sending him crashing down into a mountain range south of The Nevas’ dark land. The two gods fought for days, exchanging blow after mighty blow. The power that radiated caused their creations to cease their own battles and watch the two colossal giants wage war on one another. As they continued to beat down on one another, drops of blood rained down onto the land. Among the dirt and dust their drops of blood combined forming new shapes that neither intended to create. Noticing this, the two gods stopped and watched as these new creations took form. In their momentary truce, The Saven and Nevas agreed to call these new beings Men, the balance of order and chaos.

Deciding to see what Men brought to their world, the gods retreated from Tiritas to continue their watching. In a short time, the beings of Tiritas forged countries and cultures unique to each race. The elves set to the northern forests where The Saven first created them and named the region Timber. Among the trees they formed cities around a tree that towered over all others. This one they called the Century Tree. Some elves set out east towards another forest that they called Fayhurst. This group settled outside of the forest and created a village known as Barlay. Here, this group set themselves to worship of the twin gods.

Further east, the dwarves dug deeper into the mountain range and created a vast array of tunnels. Here they delved into metallurgy and created a great stone castle outside on the mountainside. Claiming the mountains for themselves, the dwarves named their country Prykeep and continued to build along the mountain until they reached The Nevas’ dark country. Within this realm, the monstrous creatures that once terrorized the world were kept inside. The elves named this country Septeran, the chaos world.

South of Septeran, where the black plains regained color, Men populated inside of a winding mountain range. These mountains were dubbed the Athorian Mountains, which led to the territory being called the Athosid Province. Men created a multitude of villages and cities for themselves, but none were greater than Janhaven. At the edge of the Athroian Mountains, they built a giant castle that rivaled the surrounding range.

The Rapton started off as a nomadic people, constantly moving around all the way from Septeran to the elfish land of Timber. It wasn’t until they crossed the great desert, known as the Threadbare Plains that they finally settled themselves. Towards the coastline, the Rapton created an enormous structure called the Great Nest. As they began to create their homes and a civilization, they christened the surrounding land Ahvia.

Years had passed and civilizations continued to grow. The Nevas toiled with anger as he watched his creations, goblins and monsters, struggle to survive while The Saven’s beings were prospering. Diving deep into the black lake of Septeran, the chaos god began to mold new beings from rock and mud. The Nevas poured drops of his soul into the three creations. As they came to life, The Nevas howled with evil joy and named each of them individually. First was Nicor, the warrior, wielding a sword that was crafted from the very core of Tiritas, he was to be the warlord of the entire land. Second was Abaddon, a monstrous beast with horns and razor teeth. The Nevas designated him to be the lord of all beasts within Tiritas. Finally was Samael, the deceiver. The Nevas created him without a form so that it could change as necessary to accomplish its deceptive deeds. Together, The Nevas dubbed them the Three Demons, his final assault on the land of Tiritas and the creations of The Saven.

Almost immediately the demons started their ravenous campaign. With a mighty roar the monstrous Abaddon gathered the beasts of Septeran and stampeded towards Prykeep. The monstrous horde trampled over the outer defenses and attacked the unsuspecting dwarves. Quickly, they barricaded themselves within their stronghold known as Stoneshore. Any dwarves that didn’t make it into the castle were slaughtered by the beasts.

Nicor travelled alone to the Threadbare Plains. There he found what was left of the goblin race. Through flashes of power, Nicor convinced the goblins to follow him into a battle with the Rapton. Feeling no need to plan, Nicor shouldered his great sword and marched on towards Ahvia. Once there, they found that the Rapton were waiting for them. Somehow they had been warned of their arrival and had taken preparations to meet the demon led goblins head on. Instantly, the battle ensued. Shield and sword clashed along one another causing sparks to fly and lighten the darkening sky. When the sun rose the next morning, the goblins that had survived had retreated back into the desert leaving Nicor to battle on his own. The Rapton, who had come to treasure honor and glory, fell back and allowed one warrior to battle the demon alone. Khane, regarded as the strongest Rapton, matched Nicor blade for blade in a continuous battle that lasted through entire day. As the sun began to set, Khane ripped the sword from Nicor’s grip and thrust it into the torso of the demon. As Nicor fell to the ground, the sky changed to a shade of dark red as darkness took over. Khane held the sword of Nicor and watched as it changed its shape to a more slender and sleek shape. With this change, Kane named the sword, “The Talon of Ahvia”. Raising the sword above his head, the Rapton surrounding him burst into cheers of triumph.

While his fellow demons succeeded and failed in their respective assaults, Samael was beginning his own on the land of men. In the dark of night, the shapeless demon infiltrated Janhaven. Searching through the great castle he found the first king of the Athosids, Bythrim Belquin. Quietly, the demon took the king and buried him deep within the Athorian Mountains and then took his shape within Janhaven. Within the following week, the fake king had mobilized the army of men and marched them toward the elves of Timber. As they marched they passed through Septeran and Prykeep. Abaddon allowed the army to pass through without being attacked by its own army of monsters and beasts. When they reached Barlay, the disguised Samael set fire to the entire village and stood outside of Fayhurst forest as it burned to the ground.

Finally reaching Timber, the army of men took the elves by surprise, slaughtering many before they even knew that they were under attack. Regrouping, the elves formed an offensive and met the army in battle at the foot of the Century Tree. The sparks of metal flashed again and again until the elvish warrior, Karnak Law, ran his sword through the imposter king. As Samael fell, his form once again became shapeless and fluid. Upon seeing that their leader was not their king, the men bowed in submission. Prince Cedrith Belquin rose and met with the elvish leader, Tre’Lar. Together they decreed to find any other demons that plagued their lands and vanguish them. Within this time, a small band of Rapton emerged from the Threadbare Plains, carrying the remains of the demon Nicor. They too joined into what is now known as “The Demon Quest”.

The three nations of men, Rapton, and Elves gathered their respective armies and marched towards Prykeep. Once there they took the battle to the beasts, as well as the demon Abaddon. While the monstrous horde focused their attention elsewhere, the Dwarves gathered their weapons and joined in with the fight as well. Together, the four races of Tiritas drove the monsters back into Septeran. Once they reached the coast of the great black lake, The Saven forged a great pit with no visible bottom. Seeing this, the allied armies forced Abaddon toward the newly created abyss. With one final thrust of steel, the demon fell and disappeared within the pit. The Rapton, relishing this victory, joyfully threw the bodies of Nicor and Samael into the pit as well. Together, the four races created a stone covering for the pit and vowed to do everything within their power to keep it closed.

This is pretty much a timeline. I have a story idea but I couldn't figure out how to start it and when in my worlds time to start it. So I just started from the beginning and decide that I would just go until I found a spot to start the actual story.

Okay, I've been waffling between a full-scale review and a light overview. I don't want to dump 8 paragraphs of observations on a piece that isn't your primary focus. Also, I'm not clear if you're offering this as a story or just a linear timeline of events.